More school girls dropout in Wenchi Municipality

The Wenchi Municipal Assembly, in the Bono Region of Ghana, has recorded a higher rate of school dropout at the end of December, 2020.

This was revealed by the Wenchi Municipal Health Directorate in a media briefing at the end of their annual meeting on Thursday, February 18, 2021.

The statistics at the Wenchi Municipal Health Directorate indicate that, six hundred and fifteen cases of teenage pregnancies were recorded at the end of the year 2020. This, per the statistics, was the highest number of teenage pregnancies in the last five years in the Wenchi Municipality.

Mrs Effua A. D. Amoah, the Wenchi Municipal Education Director, disclosed that, teenage pregnancies continue to increase amongst school girls in the municipality.

The Wenchi Municipal Education Directorate is faced with a significant number of school girls who dropout on a yearly basis. This, to Mrs Effua Amoah, erode the gains the educational sector has made over the years to see that more girls of school going age are enrolled into schools.

A teacher at one of the public schools in Wenchi attributed the increase rate of teenage pregnancies amongst school girls to lack of parental care and peer pressure.

"School girls at junior high schools must be guided by their parents at home, under their watchful eyes but this is not the case'. Girls at this age are curious and so fall victim into unwanted pregnancies as a result of material enticement from some unscrupulous male adults, dropping out of school", he added.

Another junior high school female teacher disclosed that, for the past three years, her school continues to record a number of girls' school dropout due to teenage pregnancies. She indicated that, two girls who had registered to sit for the 2020 Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, could not take part in the final exams.

The Assembly Member of Ahenfie Electoral Area, Mr Mohammed Kassim, who is also a management member of a school in Wenchi, stressed on the need for the municipal assembly to come out with by-laws to deal with any male adult who impregnates a school girl in the municipality.